Chapter Twenty-Four

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Allie returned to her work a few days later, on a guilty conscience for taking as long as she did. Greg, however, was not happy about her going back so quickly. She was still in pain. She cold barely walk on account of her hip, and her shoulder wasn't so hot, either. However, in the interest of keeping Greg in a semi-decent mood, there were nightly trysts, involving a lot of kisses - Allie -, ravaging - Greg - and a lot of hair-tousling - Greg and Allie -. It gave her slight amounts of pain, but the happiness and pleasure out-weighed that to a point where she barely noticed it. Although, she would deny it to the hilt that she took any enjoyment from it. Grumble about it, no big deal and whatnot. It was for Greg, after all. So Allie hobbled into the break-room and headed for the coffee-pot. Expecting her's and Greg's usual Blue Hawaiian, she was surprised to find that it had been replaced with...was that...?

"Regular coffee? Sara, what the Hell is this?" She raised her eyebrows and slammed the cup down on the counter. Sara glanced up from her 'New Criminalist' magazine and shrugged.

"Coffee, I guess."

"But it isn't Blue Hawaiian." Allie would've thought this was obvious. "Where's the Blue Hawaiian?"

Sara gave a larger shrug this time. "Victor probably took it."

Victor Smith. The elusive Victor Smith...better than Ecklie but not a patch on Grissom. "Oh." Allie frowned and poured the regular coffee out. "Well, then I'd better get back to my stuff, then..."

"Oh, wait! Uh, Warrick and Nick were looking for you...something about Ashley..." Sara smiled, feebly. Allie groaned. She really didn't want to deal with anything Ashley-related. Not today.

"Ah, uh...yeah, right...well, I'm on lunch and you know it's Greg's birthday tomorrow, you know, and I have to get him something and-"

"It's tomorrow? Really?" Sara threw her magazine onto the table and stood up, frantically digging into her pockets. "Oh, my God! I totally forgot..." She rolled her eyes at herself and pulled out a few notes. "So...what are you getting him?"

Allie smiled and shrugged. "Don't know yet...probably some DVDs...CDs..." Although, she had her eyes set on something...bigger...better. She had seen it in a garage a few weeks ago and instantly knew Greg would love it. "Anyway, gotta go. Take it easy, Sara."

"Oh, and Allie?" Sara placed the notes back in her pocket and folded her arms. "If you see Gil, tell him I need to see him. It's about..." She motioned for Allie to move closer, and when she did, she leant in closer, making sure no one heard her. "Travel arrangements."

Allie furrowed her eyebrows. "Travel arrangements?"

Sara nodded. "Check-ups."

Allie blinked and shrugged. "Sure, I'll tell him. Are you guys okay?" It had been a long time since Allie had played shrink for Grissom and Sara, and she certainly didn't intend to start again. Although...travel couldn't be bad, could it? Sara nodded again, this time with more urgency.

"Yeah, of course...see you." And then Sara flounced out, with Allie in tow. Allie quickly sauntered out of the exit before anyone noticed she was gone.

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Allie made her way to the little garage near the Strip, and dug her hands into her pockets. It was unreasonably cold in Vegas that day. She wondered what Greg was up to. Probably sitting in a chair, glaring at the TV, arm folded. She smiled lightly and entered the garage. She finally got to the front door of the place and it was obvious that they were the best. A whole bunch of very happy men and slightly-infuriated women were hanging around, generally mumbling to each other. Allie went directly up to the counter and asked for Jake. A few moments later, a tall, gangly, blonde man with a serious grin over his face.

"Hi, you must be Allie Moore. Nick told me about you. Now he said you wanted something...vintage?" He had a very high voice for a man, she noted. Apparently, though, in the world of cars, he was the bomb. Nick's words, not Allie's.

"Yes, uh...it's for my boyfriend. Fiancé." Allie laughed nervously and rolled her eyes at herself. "He loves vintage."

Jake nodded. "Wise man, huh?" Allie smiled, by way of reply. "Alright, well...there's a few over here...Dodge Charger...a few Hummers. Uh..." Jake stopped and scratched his head. "Any idea of a budget?"

Allie shrugged. "Just...whatever's the nicest."

Jake laughed, and showed her around another few cars...none of them were really...Greg-ey. Sure, they would've done perfectly for her, but not for Greg. Eventually, she told Jake that she'd be back after doing a tiny bit of research. "Alright...but if you want the Charger, act fast. Things like that don't stay on the shelf too long."

Allie bobbed her head from side to side. "Yeah, thanks. Good to know." So she fled quickly, and ended up back at the lab. A wile later, processing copious amounts of blood for Sara, Nick and Warrick finally caught hold of her. She looked up from processing, hair lying over one shoulder, deeply concentrating on the GCMS results. "What's up with you two?"

Nick folded his arms and nodded to Warrick, who frowned and shook his head. "Allie, we need you to come down to the hospital. Ashley wants to see you."

Allie rolled her eyes to herself and put the results down. "And why would she be doing such a crazy thing as that?"

Nick interjected. "Because, she's going to jail. Eighteen months at most...good behaviour...she could be out in ten." Allie swallowed and took her gloves off. She sighed, hoping the Ashley-thing wouldn't have reared it's ugly head again. Nick started before she had a chance to respond. "If you don't want to, or you don't think you'd be up to it, we'll tell Brass to leave it alone."

"No. No." She sighed. "I'll do it. Come get me after work, though...Sara needs these results." She flashed the two boys a grin and then returned to getting herself a new pair of gloves. Allie glanced back up, expecting Nick and Warrick to have fled long ago, but no such luck. She shrugged. "What? I'll do it!"

Warrick smiled. "If you're sure."

"She's got a lot of broken bones, Al. She's in bad condition." Nick unfolded his arms and put them in his pockets. Allie nodded, still flicking through results.

"Yeah, I know. I saw her." Her tone was quiet, and Warrick and Nick wondered if they heard her right.

"You saw her?" Nick raised his eyebrows. Allie nodded to herself and started running a urine sample, checking for signs of drug-use. She enjoyed the testing-for-drugs part of her work, because generally, it was a case-breaker.

"Mmm-hm. I did." Her eyebrows were furrowed, and she was too intent on the urine-sample to invest anymore into the conversation.

"And?" Nick Stokes. Royal gossip. Allie rolled her eyes again.

"She's exactly the same as she always is. Trying to, one, get one over on me and two, do Greg. Well, no way. Not a chance. If she wants him, then it'll be over my dead body."

Warrick glared at Nick and folded his arms. "Alright, we'll meet you in the break room after your shift. Take it easy, Moore."

"Yeah, see you, Al." Nick nodded and followed Warrick out the door. Allie sighed and smiled to herself. Those too were too overprotective. In a sweet way, but still...overprotective and worriers. She sat back in her chair and picked up a magazine.

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Allie sat back in her chair, this close to the end of her shift. She was nervous, for some ungodly reason that she couldn't come to grips with. After tonight, no more Ashley. No way was that bag of evil going to ruin Allie's life, nor her relationship. She swallowed and picked up her phone. Greg's number seemed to dial itself, somehow. She put the phone to her ear and traced her finger along one of her favored microscopes. A few rings and he picked up, with a less-than-pleased tone.

"Hello?"

Allie smiled. "Hey, babe...what's happening?"

"Ha!" He scoffed. "What's happening, indeed. Well, your crazy brother and his friend were here-"

"Dylan and Frank?"

"Yeah. They stole half my CD collection! And since the crash I only had half of it!"

Allie grinned. "That's all? They stole your CD collection? Jeez, Greg...I worry for your priorities, man. Anyway, look, I was just calling to, uh..." Allie inhaled and licked her lips. "Tell you that..." She paused. Did she want to tell the truth? No. Did she have to? Not really... "I'll be late. Nick and Warrick want me to come with them for something...stupid case they need help with." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, be careful, okay? I want you in one piece when I come home, you know."

Greg sighed, audibly. "Yeah, okay. Hey, tell them I need visitors! I miss people, Allie! I need to talk!"

Allie giggled. "And what, I'm not good enough? Well, good day, Gregory Sanders!" She feigned shock and smiled to herself, unaware that Nick and Warrick had waltzed in behind her.

"You know I love you, though..." Greg, on the other end of the line, was grinning to himself, staring into the TV.

Allie broadened her smile and sat forward, bending over slightly to play with her shoes. "No...I love you more."

Greg liked this game. It was one he knew very...very well. "No, I love you more."

"No way, Sanders...I love you ten times more than you could. It's something to do with the hair..."

"The hair? Not my quirks? Man, how I love your...quirks."

Allie erupted into a fit of laughter over this. "Yes, thank you, Greg. I love your, ahem, quirks, too." Quirks. Obvious codeword. Who knew? Nick cleared his throat, unable to take any more of the one-sided conversation. Allie turned round and groaned. "Aaw, hey, I have to go...I'll see you soon...I love you!" She half-yelled into the phone, almost deafening Greg.

"Love you, too...now go, be gone! Vamoose!"

"Alright! Goodbye!" Finally, she hung up and smiled to herself, emitting a sigh. She turned round to the two CSIs and continued with the up-turned lips. "Sorry about that...Greg." She stood up and flattened her skirt. It was a dark one, for a change, but the orange shirt out-weighed it. And the peep-toe shoes were a wonder all on their own. "We ready?"

Warrick nodded, with a small smile. "Yeah, are you?"

Allie nodded. "Anytime, guys. Go forth and spread the word!" She ushered Nick and Warrick out of the door, grinning all the way.

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The grins soon reverted back to nerves as she entered the hospital. Her shoes clacked along the floors to Ashley's room. Nick and Warrick were trailing behind her, making random small-talk. Thankfully, it was Doctor Pendanski that she met outside Ashley's door. She flashed him a friendly smile and folded her arms, only after shifting a bit of her hair out of her way. She needed a haircut, ASAP.

"Hey, Doctor Pendanski...how's it going?"

John Pendanski grinned from ear-to-ear. Frankly, it couldn't be better. He'd cured at least ten patients in three days alone, lost none since just before Allie and Greg had come in. "Amazing, Allie! I've had a great day, and for the record- I'm glad she's getting time. Do your worst, boys." He eyed Nick and Warrick pointedly and then went back down to the nurse's station. Allie braced herself and opened the door before Nick or Warrick could talk to her. Ashley looked up at her with massive tears in her eyes. She was stick-thin, tired-looking and twenty-times rougher than she had been the first time Allie went to see her.

"Jesus..." Allie was quite glad it was a darkened room, otherwise she might've felt sorry for Ashley.

"I know, right? I'm on hunger-strike. They said they're giving me a tube." Ashley's tone conveyed just how pleased she was with all the attention. Hospitals were a great place for attention...now she could add hypochondriac to her growing list of skills.

Allie swallowed and sat in the chair next to her, feeling ten-times older since she entered the room. "Trying to kill yourself isn't gonna solve anything, Ashley." Great...now she sounded like it, too.

Ashley sat up, feeling her stomach growling away, violently. Nick and Warrick were still at the door, keeping a stealthy eye. "If I want to, I will. Always been my motto. Anyway...being dead has to be better than being in jail."

Allie sat forward, hand held out in front of her, fingers intertwined. "Good behaviour...you'll be out in ten months."

Ashley scoffed. "I'm not into 'good' behaviour, Allie. In fact, I hate it."

Allie rolled her eyes. She had, right at that moment, run out of all sympathy she might've had for Ashley. "Look, you called me here for something and now I'm here, so what is it, Ashley? I have things to do."

Ashley smiled, her skin looking pale and washed out...not it's usual extreme-tan. "I wanted to tell you...you know, before they throw me away and forget about me...I'm sorry about trying to steal Greg...but I still hate you."

Allie smiled. "And here I thought you were finally gonna turn into a human there...but I guess...I accept your apology." She didn't want to sound as warm and friendly as she did, but she never could speak icily. "But I have to go. Greg's waiting on me." She stood up and folded her arms. "By the way...once you get out...I'm getting a restraining order on you."

Ashley smiled again. "Congratulations. I'd probably do the same. Goodbye, Allie." There was such finality in her tone that made Allie shiver slightly as she walked over to Warrick and Nick, deciding that was definitely the weirdest moment of her life so far.

Not half as weird as the phone call from Pendanski the next morning, explaining to her about the deceased Ashley Kelly.

A/N: Ha! Bet none of you were expecting that! Aaah, fun chapter to write!

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